Collar



May 20, 1924. 1,494,391

J. M. VAN HEUSEN COLLAR Filed Nov. 22 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR M dwhwgiwmls ATTORNEY May 20 1924.

J. M. VAN HEUSEN COLLAR Filed Nov. 22 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 won INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented May 20, 1924.

UNITED STATES:

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MANNING VAN HEUSEN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO VAN HEUSEN FRODUCTS, INC, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

COLLAR.

Application filed November 22, 1921. Serial No. 517,019.

I '0 all 710m it may concern- Be it known that I, JOHN MANNING VAN linUsnN, citizen of the United States of America. residing at Boston, inthe county of Suffolk, State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in soft folding or turn-d0wn collars, and more particularly to such collars made of multiple ply interwoven fabric provided with a weakened fold or fold portion of increased flexibility.

In particular, the invention provides a collar with a weakened fold or fold portion of increased flexibility such that the collar will fold along a curvilinear line without weaving the collar fabric with a curvilinear fold portion.

According to the present invention, the fabric may be woven as a straight fabric and it is provided with a straight fold portion of suflicient width so that the collar may fold along the desired curvilinear'line which will be within the limits of the width of the fold portion as woven.

In weaving the collar fabric, a portion of suflicient width is left without interweaving, or the weave is otherwise so modified, that a fold portion of considerable width is provided, within which the collar will fold more readily than on either side of said fold portion. The fold portion may be made, for xample, by omitting the interweave between the plies of fabric which are elsewhere'interwoven, or it may be made by omitting certain of the longitudinal threads of the fabric so that the fabric as a whole will be more flexible at the fold portion.

By making the fold portion of sufiicient width so that the collar may fold along the curvilinear line within the width of this fold portion, it becomes unnecessary to weave the fabric with a curvilinear weave in order to provide a curvilinear fold portion therein.

In one of the preferred embodiments of the invention the collar is woven with a fold portion which on one side of the fabric or on both sides of the fabric has the same appearance as the main interwoven portion of the fabric on each side of the fold portion. For

example, in the case of a three ply fabric the fold portion may be made by omitting the interweave between one of the plies and the other two plies, leaving two of the plies interwoven so that they present the same appearance on the outside of the fabric as does the three ply interwoven portion.

The invention will be further described in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrative of certain embodiments thereof, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the finished collar;

I Fig. 2 is a plan view of the collar unfolded;

Fig. 3 is an enlar ed sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of *ig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged diagrammatical view taken on the line 4:-4: of Fig. 2 and showing one weave for a three ply fabric;

Fig. 5 shows a modification of the weave of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a strip of fabric from which the collar blanks may be cut.

The fabric of which the collar of the present invention is made may be, for example, a three ply interwoven fabric or a four ply interwoven fabric. Fabrics of the kind mentioned are possessed. of an inherent stiffness which gives the completed collar made of such a fabric an appearance comparable to that of the starched collar. Also, as above mentioned, a fabric of this kind may be provided with a fold portion of modified weave, said fold portion being so woven that the appearance of the fabric on either one or both sides of the fold portion is the same or substantially the same as the ap pearanceof the main interwoven portion.

One preferred embodiment of the collar of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, the collar being made up of an outer or folding portion 1, a neck band portion 2. the latter being provided with the usual buttonholes 3, and a broad fold portion 4. The fabric of which this collar is made is illustratedin Figs. 3 and 4. This fabric is made up of three sets of warp threads 6 interwoven with weft threads 5 to form three separate plies, the outer and intermediate plies and the inner and intermediate plies being bound integrally together by the interweave threads 7 and 8 respectively.

As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the broad fold portion l is obtained by omitting the interweave threads 8, that is, the inter weave threads which normally bind to gether the inner and intermediate plies, at the said broad fold portion 4. The inner ply is thus separated from the intermediate and outer plies at the fold portion, while the said outer and intermediate plies are interwoven in much the same manner as in the main interwoven portion of the fabric, and consequently present the same appearance over the entire outer surface. By arranging the fabric as is shown in Fig. 3, so that the outer exposed side of the fabric is the side presenting the same appearance at the fold portion as at the main interwoven port-ion of the collar, the collar will present a pleasing and finished appearance over its entire surface and will, by virtue of the two ply interwoven fabric at the fold line, possess sufficient stiffness along the said broad fold portion so as to be free from fiimsiness.

In Fig. 6, the fabric from which the collar blank may be cut is illustrated in the form in which it may be woven. That is, the fabric may be woven with a width several times the width of the desired collar blank so that a series of collar blanks may be cut from a single width of the fabric.

The fabric may be woven in strips, that is, with the main interwoven portions of the fabric alternating with the fold portions. These fold portions, as illustrated, are woven straight, but they have a sufficient width to permit the folding of the collar along a curvilinear line within the width of the fold portion, for example, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The width of the fold portion is preferably such that the collar will fold at or near the outer edge of the fold portion at the back of the collar and at or near the front portion of the fold portion at the front of the collar. That is, the width of the fold is preferably such that it will limit and regulate the permissible curvature of the collar when folded and worn.

lVlien a collar is made of this fabric by cutting out the collar blank in the manner illustrated in Fig. 6, and by shaping the collar into a curved shape, as when it is worn, it will tend to fold along the heavy line as indicated in Fig. 2.

The collar is provided with a suitable edge binding, for example, as shown in Fig. 8. That is. a narrow edge of the heavy fabric may be turned, overlaid with a strip of tape, and stitched in place by means of two rows of stitches 9, as illustrated and described in my Patent No. 1,25,294e

If it is desired to give the collar an additional stiffness, or that the fold portion should present the same appearance on both sides as the appearance of the main interwoven portion, the collar may, for example, be made of a four ply interwoven fabric as illustrated in Fig. 5. In this figure similar letters of reference refer to similar parts as in Fig. 4., with the exception that letter a is affixed thereto. The broad fold portion t is obtained in the weavingof this fabric by interweaving the outer two adjacent plies and the inner two adjacent plies, leaving these two interwoven portions separate from each other. he surface of the fabric on both sides of the broad fold portion will present the same appearance as the main interwoven portion of the fabric, and a collar made up of this fabric is consequently, in this respect, reversible.

The tendency of the collar to fold along the curvilinear line can be promoted, for example, in the case of a three ply fabric, with a weakened fold made by omitting the interweaving between two of the plies and the third ply, by arranging the single ply layer of the collar on the inside and by stitching it to the two ply portion. with a series of stitches alongthe curvilinear line which forms the top of the neckband so that these stitches will be concealed from view when the collar isworn. Fig. 2 shows a single row of stitches 10 arranged in this manner and tending more definitely to determine the line of fold 42 of the collar. It will be understood that, if desired, more than one row of stitches may be used for this purpose.

While I have illustrated the collar fabric as three ply and four ply interwoven fabric respectively, and with a broad fold portion of the character described, yet it will be understood that the particular weave of he fabric is intended to be illustrative rather than limiting, and that other suitable weaves or fabrics can be similarly used.

I claim:

1. A folding or turn-down collar com prising neckba-nd and turn-down portions made of heavy fabric joined by a straight fold portion which is more flexible than the no adjacent fabric portions, the width of the said fold portion being greater than that required for forming a straight line of fold, and being such that the collar may fold along a curvilinear line within the limits 115 of the said straight fold portion.

2. A folding or turn-down collar comprising neckband and turn-down portions made of multiple ply interwoven fabric joined by a straight fold portion which is no more flexible than the adjacent fabric portions, the width of the said fold portion being greater than that required for forming a straight line of fold, and being such that the collar may fold along a curvilinear line within the limits of the said straight fold portion.

3. A folding or turn-down collar comprising neckband and turn-down portions of heavy fabric joined by a straight fold portion about 1;" wide, said fold portion being more flexible than the adjacent fabric portions and the line of fold at the two ends of the collar occurring at the lower edge of the wide straight fold portion and at the back or middle of the collar occurring at the upper edge of said wide straight fold p0rtion.

4. A folding or turn-down collar made of one piece of multiple ply interwoven fabric having certain of the longitudinal threads thereof omitted. to form a straight fold portion which is more flexible than the adjacent fabric portions, the width of the said straight fold portion being such that the collar may fold along a curvilinear line within the limits of the straight fold portion.

5. A folding or turn-down collar made of one piece of multiple ply interwoven fabric having certain of the longitudinal threads thereof omitted to form a straight fold portion of increased flexibility, the width of the straight fold portion being greater than that required for determining the line of fold and being such that the collar may fold along a curvilinear line within the limits of the said fold portion, and the fabric on the outside of the collar at the fold portion having interweave threads woven therein and presenting substantially the same appearance as that of the main interwoven portion of the collar.

6. A folding or turn-down collar made of one piece of multiple ply interwoven fabric having a straight fold portion which is of greater flexibility than the main body portions of the collar, and which has woven, in the fabric on both surfaces of the said fold portion, interweave threads so that the weave at the fold of the collar presents substantially the same appearance as the main interwoven portion thereof.

7. A folding or turn down collar having its neckband and turn down portions of single unitary fabric separated by a straight fold portion of increased flexibility, the width of the fold portion being greater than that required for folding the collar and having stitching along a curvilinear line within the limits of the said fold portion, said stitching tending to define the curvilinear line of fold of the collar.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOHN MANNING VAN H EUSE N. 

